Health care advocate punched by opponent at Florida event

MIAMI -- A low-key rally for healthcare reform in Miami took an unexpected turn Wednesday when a passerby punched a 65-year-old man in the face after a heated exchange.

Luis Perrero was among about 40 supporters of a healthcare overhaul waving signs outside a Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce meeting headlined by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., when a man in a green pickup truck stopped and began arguing with the crowd.

The roadside exchange, which began with questions about the costs of a government-run healthcare plan, quickly turned into a volley of Spanish and English curse words and insults, witnesses said.

When Perrero uttered an offensive Spanish expletive, Raul Anasagasti, who was driving the pickup, punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Police arrested and charged Anasagasti.

"I'm amazed at the way this has become such a politicized issue," Perrero said as he sat on the ground holding his jaw. "It shows that people who are against the public option will resort to anything -- including battery on a senior citizen -- to prevent healthcare reform."

The healthcare debate across the country has generated frequent street side protests and contentious town hall meetings aimed at influencing members of Congress during their August break. The public outbursts have been tense, even raucous at times, but rarely violent.

Nelson, a moderate Democrat who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, has been a popular target for those organizing for and against various healthcare reform proposals. A rally outside his Coral Gables office last month drew more than 150 people on either side of the debate who exchanged chants and shouts across a street. At the closed-door meeting with area business leaders, Nelson said he was working with other legislators to reach a bipartisan healthcare bill and that a government-run public option most likely would not be included.

"To get 60 votes for (a public option) is going to be very difficult," he said. "So we are looking at alternatives such as in the place of that to do a co-op, which is an insurance company that is owned by its policyholders."

Nelson played down the public contention over healthcare, accusing 24-hour cable news channels of exploiting the conflict and ignoring the search for consensus.

"Conflict and argument and controversy and clash is what you've been hearing about," Nelson said. "And that's just a minor part of building this elusive consensus.'

But while he was speaking, Miami Fire Rescue and Miami police were responding to the altercation.

Anasagasti, who owns Galo Air Conditioning in South Dade, Fla., was arrested and charged with battery on a person 65 or older. The 56-year-old air conditioning contractor claimed self-defense after the incident.

"He raised his arm at me," he said at the scene. "That's when I hit him. I have to defend myself."

After absorbing the blow, Perrero lay motionless on the grass for about five minutes, while others at the rally administered aid to him and removed the keys from Anasagasti's pickup truck so he could not leave the scene, said Lt. Ignatius Carroll, a Miami Fire Rescue spokesman. Perrero's injuries were minor and he did not want to be taken to the hospital, Carroll said.

Although Nelson covered issues like small business loans and hurricane preparedness in his half-hour speech, his comments on healthcare drew the strongest applause from the button-down crowd. At the end of his remarks, he warned the healthcare reform effort would be extremely difficult and building consensus might take longer than expected.

"We will get this done," he said. "It may not be the whole ball of wax at once, but we will get something done. And then we can build on it in the future."